Crew Closes Columbus Slate With Scrimmage

Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, the Crew today conducted its first intrasquad scrimmage
of the preseason while training in Columbus.

For about one hour, the team split itself in two and went head-to-head on the grass field at
Crew Stadium. After two periods, the coaches adjusted some roster spots and sent them back out for
two more. Here were the starters for the blue team:

Emilio Renteria-Olman Vargas

Bernardo Anor-Tony Tchani-Milovan Mirosevic-Ethan Finlay

Shaun Francis-Carlos Mendes-Eric Gehrig-Sebastian Miranda

Gruenebaum

This was the first team with a few notable exceptions. Midfielders Eddie Gaven (knee) and Dilly
Duka (U-23 camp), defender Chad Marshall (ankle) and William Hesmer (ankle) were all out of
commission.

That group went against the orange team:

Tommy Heinemann-Aaron Horton

Ben Speas-Kirk Urso-Danny O’Rourke-Cole Grossman

Korey Veeder-Josh Williams-Kevan George-Aubrey Perry

Matt Lampson

Then for the second half, the Crew looked to use a different lineup. For the blue team:

Vargas

Finlay-Urso-Tchani-Mirosevic-Renteria

Williams-Mendes-O’Rourke-Miranda

Gruenebaum

And the orange team:

Heinemann

Speas-Gehrig-Grossman-George-Horton

Francis-?-Perry-Veeder

Lampson

A few players who caught my eye:

-Urso. He had two goals and looked confident on corner kicks with the first unit.
-Speas. Very quick, decisive and shifty with the ball.
-Vargas. Lots of hustle and speed, although still obviously learning his teammates.
-Renteria. Showed lots of physicality and aggression when pressing the attack.

Left back update:
Not to
belabor the point, but the team’s lack of depth at the position was again a topic of
conversation after watching the scrimmage.

“You have to be prepared for anything,” Warzycha said. “I’m trying Bernardo over there because
you know Shaun was out for eight months last year. I don’t want anybody to be surprised. Now he has
some time over there so he can say, ‘OK, I’m mentally prepared to do this.’

Carlos Mendes and Josh Williams are also apparently candidates to add depth at the position.

“I talked to Carlos about that and he’s not opposed to doing it,” Warzycha said. “Shaun is the
one that has the job to lose right now. Preseason is tough for him. This is the first time that he’s
fully healthy. He has some miles in his legs and probably feels a little tired but Charleston will
be a time for him to polish his passes and everything else and get fresher and play.”

Today’s injury report: A few updates today. Hesmer is expected to be back in
action this Sunday, although head coach Robert Warzycha did not officially anoint him the starter
for opening day should he be fully healthy in time. Hesmer ran steps in the stadium and said he
sprained four ligaments in his ankle and suffered a deep bone bruise on the team’s first day of
preseason training.

Julius James continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, and Warzycha said he remains
a ways off from returning.

“When we come back, he’s going to do some things with the team,” he said before adding that he
won’t be ready for the March 10 season opener with Colorado.

O’Rourke took part in his second consecutive full day of practice as he continues to recover
from a knee injury.

Marshall and Gaven are expected to be full-go by the start of the season.

New scrimmages: In addition to the three previously scheduled matches during the
Carolina Challenge Cup, Warzycha confirmed that the Crew will scrimmage the College of Charleston
while in town. The scrimmage is likely to take place Monday.

After the team opens the season with the Rapids, the Crew will have a week off from Major League
Soccer play before hosting Montreal for its home opener. During the week in between, the Crew will
play three scrimmages: Notre Dame (March 12 or 13) and Michigan and West Virginia (March 17).